Gary Hanel surfboards are hand shaped in Encinitas California. As a master of his craft his boards always deliver the perfect balance of form and function with beauty to boot….

Gary Hanel started shaping in his garage in North County San Diego, in 1974 and followed the typical backyard path, which meant he built the whole board—from start to finish—and gathered his
clients from a local group of friends, students, and acquaintances. He eventually landed a part-time job sanding for Moonlight Glassing in 1978 and progressed to one of their stock shapers. From
there, he transitioned to shaping house-boards for several other shops in the area and also worked with Rip Curl/Wayne Lynch. He cites Bill Shrosbree, Wayne Lynch, Dan VanZanten, and other
shapers who were associated with Moonlight, as his earliest influences and today he is known for his thoughtful, craftsman-like approach to the manufacturing process under his own label. I like
to take all the experience that I have and use what is current to create boards that combine old and new, says Hanel. Although I occasionally embrace radical change, I think slower, evolutionary
change is much more lasting. A lot of radical change is change for change’s sake—here today, gone tomorrow.